They've already fought their way through the Holy Grail War, and you still call them dragons?

You can't tell the young master in front of the other family heads: You may not be a descendant of the Minamoto clan, but a descendant of the previous Shadow Emperor Uesugi Koshi, and you may not be able to summon Minamoto no Raikou smoothly, right?

Chapter 166 Who is this Tachibana Masamune?

The questions asked by old man Fuma really touched upon Emiya's blind spots in knowledge.

He himself did know various ways to summon heroic spirits. For example, Flatt summoned Jack the Ripper without using any summoning circle or spell, but just randomly picked up a gift toy knife.

For example, on the night of the summon, Rin Tohsaka didn't use any relics, but instead stood directly in the summoning circle and summoned herself as the "Widow of the Holy Relic" Red A...

As for using multiple sets of relics to stack the probability of summoning heroic spirits like stacking buffs, he had never seen it before.

After all, relics are typically rare and require a fortune to be snatched up at high-end auctions. Who would prepare a large collection of them all at once, just to increase their chances of summoning a Heroic Spirit?

However, the eight wealthy family heads all said that these were not a problem. No matter what summoning conditions were required, since we had to prepare, we would prepare the best one!

Emiya gave a thumbs-up, expressing his approval of the vast treasury of these incredibly wealthy families. After all, he was in the business of getting paid, and wasn't truly aligned with them. Whether or not they could summon him wouldn't affect him, so he rationally analyzed their thinking.

First, the most fundamental immutable rule:

The summoning of a Heroic Spirit requires a catalyst; without it, the summoning cannot take place. This catalyst is generally a Holy Relic. If it is missing, it refers to the "bond" between the summoner and the Heroic Spirit, resulting in a most likely Compatibility Summoning.

Using multiple relics is equivalent to multiple catalysts. In theory, the number of Heroic Spirits they target is increasing. It is equivalent to there being very few UP characters in the original pool, but the increase in catalysts has led to more and more messy characters in the pool, making it increasingly difficult to specify a summon.

For example, one of the famous swords owned by Minamoto no Raikou, "Onikiri", was originally named Higekiri and was given to him by his father Minamoto no Mitsunaka. This sword and Spider-Giri are a pair of brother swords, but Onikiri was eventually handed over by Minamoto no Raikou to Watanabe Tsunade, one of the Four Heavenly Kings under his command.

Watanabe Tsuna used this sword to cut off Ibaraki Douji's wrist at Gojo Ferry, hence the name "Oni-Kiri".

Therefore, if Onikiri is used as a holy relic, the chance of Watanabe Tsuna being summoned will increase.

The "Tate no Armor" is indeed a set of armor inherited from the Genji clan. According to legend, it was received through the oracle of "Sumiyoshi Myojin" when visiting Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine. The "Star Armor" helmet was also given by the gods.

However, it was the later Takeda family (represented by the "Tiger of Kai" Takeda Shingen) who made the "Tateishi Armor" famous. Even the Takeda family crest, "Takeda Diamond", is the diamond-shaped pattern on the "Tateishi Armor".

Therefore, using the "Tate no Armor" may increase the chance of Takeda Shingen being summoned.

However, Minamoto no Chisei's situation at the moment is rather special. As a descendant of the Minamoto clan, he is basically locked in the Minamoto clan in terms of "fate". Emiya feels that there will be no situation where he will summon heroic spirits from other families.

Rather, it is better to say that with so many holy relics of specified properties used, and the summoner himself being a descendant with a blood relationship, it would be strange if Minamoto no Raikou could not be summoned.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Emiya came to a conclusion and spoke slowly:

"Master of the Fuma family, your strategy is truly ingenious. Utilizing multiple catalysts will surely allow Gen-sang to more smoothly summon our ancestor Minamoto no Raikou."

"Is that true?"

Yuan Zhisheng frowned slightly. He always felt that things shouldn't be so complicated, but he and the other family heads didn't know much about the Holy Grail War, so it would be better to leave professional matters to professionals.

"...Alright, then, let's do this. I'll immediately arrange for someone to search the vault for Onikiri and the armor and helmet. There are so many items in the vault that it's hard to find them, and the latter two might not be there, but Onikiri should definitely still be there."

Gen Chisheng recalled the sword culture exhibition arranged last time. He personally looked through the preliminary list of exhibits, and Onikiri was on the list.

He took out his cell phone, tapped his finger on the screen to edit a text message, and sent the task details to his assistant Sakura Yabuki.

Then the topics in the meeting room continued, including the actions against the demon group, the monitoring of the recent influx of foreign population in Tokyo, the early relocation of the family's local industries in Tokyo, etc. ... one after another was thrown out, like chess pieces thrown on a chessboard.

The entire meeting gradually came to an end with various orderly arrangements.

Fuma Kotaro and Inuyama He exchanged a knowing look. They were glad that they didn't have to explain the secret that was about to be buried deep underground, that is, the emperor of their family, Minamoto no Nakasawa, was actually unlikely to be a descendant of the Minamoto family. After all, such a thing really couldn't be made public.

Fuma Kotaro didn't expect that the method he came up with in a hurry could actually increase the probability. It was really a blessing in disguise.

Although the old man's expression and aura remained as stern as ever, he couldn't help but feel a little proud and relieved about his own quick wit.

Thinking of this, Fuma Kotaro felt a sudden liking for Emiya, who had cooperated with him. When the last topic was settled, Fuma Kotaro stood up and approached Emiya at the end of the meeting. "Thank you for your help, Lord Emiya. This is a small gift from the Fuma family. Please accept it."

As the old man spoke, he reached into the sleeves of his kimono with his aged fingers, and like magic, he took out a check with the amount written on it, and quickly and unnoticeably handed it to Emiya.

His movements were skillful and well-trained, and for a moment, reminded Emiya of the way his seventh aunt and second uncle would quickly stuff red envelopes into children's pockets when visiting relatives during the holidays.

"Hey! How can I do this? Gen-san has already paid the promised fee..." At this time, Emiya was holding another bearer check signed and stamped by Gen-no-Chisei.

"Your Excellency Emiya probably rarely attends family gatherings. This small gift is not a token of respect, but a greeting gift from my Fuma family. Please come often as a guest during the New Year gatherings in the future!"

Why the hell do you come here so often? I’m not a relative of your family!

"That's what I mean," Inuyama He's voice suddenly interrupted, and he smiled like a kind-faced old neighbor grandfather.

"But we're both old men, half buried in the ground. You and a young man like the young master might have more common topics... Oh, and speaking of guests, here's your gold VIP card. Young people should have more fun!"

"Play more?" Emiya always felt that Inuyama He's tone suddenly became more meaningful, as if it came from some extravagant night.

When he took the card, he turned it over to the front, and the gilded fox mask and the conspicuous large characters "Tamamonomae" immediately caught his eye.

Emiya immediately recalled a private club with the same name he'd frequented, and the imagery of its decadent atmosphere became ever more vivid. Could it be Tamamonomae...?

"Haha, there are a lot of young and beautiful girls in the club. Have fun while you're still young."

Wow, this old man really is in the brothel business!

Just as Emiya's fingers were stroking the card, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his lower back. Nono's nails were like the claws of a feline, gently digging into his flesh. He could almost see Nono pouting and saying, "Emiya, you're not allowed to go..."

"I didn't even agree to go."

The hand around the waist finally loosened slowly.

At this time, Fuma Kotaro and Inuyama He had turned and left. Their backs were stretched out under the lights of the corridor, and gradually overlapped with the still busy figure of Minamoto Chisei. The secret and vague sound of discussion gradually dissipated quietly among the crowd.

----

After the meeting, Yuan Zhisheng's phone screen glowed coldly in the dim conference room.

He made several calls in succession before he finally had the chance to put down the slightly hot device in his hand. Thinking of the upcoming Holy Grail War and the uninvited guests that might come from all over the world, the worry between Yuan Zhisheng's brows seemed like frost that could not be melted.

His gaze passed through the French windows and fell on his sister's figure in the distance. "Eri" still stayed quietly beside Emiya.

There seemed to be two different thoughts pulling at each other in Gen Chisheng's heart: on one hand, "Eryi may be able to continue making friends", and on the other hand, "Eryi's bloodline situation is unclear, it is very dangerous for her to contact the outside world, and she should return to her room as soon as possible."

At this moment, Fuma Kotaro and Inuyama He suddenly came over. Fuma Kotaro's black kimono was embroidered with dark spider patterns, while Inuyama He was wearing a dark purple haori with the red family crest of the Akagi embroidered on the cuffs in golden-red silk thread, which shone with a cold light.

"Is there something wrong with the two family heads?"

Fuma Kotaro's face was stern and his voice was low, without any trace of the friendly manner he used when entertaining guests. He asked, "Young Master, is there any hidden reason why the head of the family was absent from the meeting today? If possible, could you please reveal it?"

Inuyama He nodded slightly, a sharp glint in his eyes. "Today's meeting agenda is related to the survival of the Eight Snake Families, but the head of the family has not shown up. This is really puzzling."

...What could be more important than what happened today?

Fuma Kotaro and Inuyama He have always been suspicious of the identity of Tachibana Masamune. This man has obvious foreign features on his face and claims to have the bloodline of the Tachibana family...

It was because Tachibana Masamune had been diligent and conscientious since joining the family for more than ten years, and had also brought the family the emperor, Minamoto no Chisei, and the powerful weapon, Uesugi Erie, that the two elders reluctantly expressed their approval on the surface.

After all, if you take it more seriously, the three inner families of the Snake Eight Families will really be empty, and Uesugi Yue will never come back. If the position of Shadow Emperor becomes history from now on... it will be a huge joke in future generations.

Therefore, Fuma Kotaro and the other man reluctantly recognized Tachibana Masamune, but in fact they recognized his adopted son Minamoto no Nakasei - if Tachibana Masamune really had problems, it would not be a bad idea to push Minamoto no Nakasei to take office directly.

Chapter 167 Kazama Ruri: I will definitely release Shuten-doji!

The mountains outside Osaka rise and fall in the twilight, like a dormant dragon. Hidden within this verdant landscape lies the Gokurakukan, a piece of blood-red amber embedded in the mountains.

In this country, Osaka has always been famous for its magnificent, large-scale underground casinos. However, Gokurakukan is less than half the size of other casinos. Due to its remote location, it appears gloomy and eerie, with very few people and is not open to outside gamblers.

In a nutshell, it hasn't opened yet.

Because this is one of the strongholds of the mixed-blood organization "Ghost Clan".

The reason why "Masamune Tachibana" went offline was because Herzog arranged for the "King General" to go here to prevent Kazama Ruri from taking the opportunity to cause trouble and let the demons get out of control.

Even though Kazama Ruri is just a chess piece that Herzog can control after he performed a pons splitting surgery, this guy has been very active in forming cliques recently for some reason. It would be troublesome if he caused a split within the demon group.

It would be better to take advantage of the Holy Grail War to divert Ruri Kazama's attention to "revenge on her brother."

Of course, he also had his own things to do. When the Holy Grail War was about to begin, Herzog was anxious to transfer the team he had secretly cultivated out of Tokyo to avoid unexpected twists and turns like the Shinjuku Incident. In addition, he had to guard against and search for Bondarev who was hiding in the dark... He was extremely busy.

It can be seen that the disadvantages of playing two roles began to emerge. When he was the only one causing trouble in the entire island country, he could still control the rhythm to some extent. However, when there were multiple parties causing trouble, Herzog began to be busy and exhausted, and could not take care of both ends.

Mistakes were made in the chaos, and the suspicion on Masamune Tachibana began to be magnified.

……

The leader of the ghosts, "Wang Jiang", stepped into the gate of Paradise wearing that disgusting smiling mask of a noble. The red and white paint of the mask looked particularly dazzling under the dim light.

What he immediately encountered was not the black-suited members of the fierce ghost group lining the aisle to welcome him and bow respectfully, but a long sword that stabbed at him as fast as a poisonous snake.

The cold light of the sword cut through the air with a sharp sound, accompanied by a faint floral scent. It attacked unexpectedly in the summer evening breeze, and finally hovered delicately an inch in front of the neck and throat under the king's mask.

The one who raised the knife and stabbed was the second-in-command, "Dragon King" Fengjian Liuli.

He wore a blood-red, wide-sleeved kimono embroidered with large clusters of red spider lilies. The wide-sleeved kimono is women's clothing, and the red spider lilies, also known as Lycoris radiata, were as red as gurgling fresh blood.

Feng Jianli's icy white cheeks were covered with a frosty coldness. His voice seemed to come from the depths of hell, "General Wang, I think you've come to the wrong place. This is not your territory."

Seeing this, the patrolling men in black suits pulled out their heavy tactical pistols, their large-caliber Magnum rounds ready to fire, as if waiting to inject their deadly venom into their prey. Their target wasn't Kazama Ruri, but the king.

Obviously, none of the men in black suits present belonged to the "Evolutionary Path Faction" under General Wang. They belonged to the "Dragon King Faction."

The general seemed oblivious to the danger before him. He spread his arms wide, his voice under the mask carrying an unpleasant smile, "Oh? But isn't this the territory of the Fierce Ghost Clan?"

His tone was so relaxed that it was as if he was talking about the weather, not his own life or death.

What the king secretly observed was that the number of men in black suits from the "Dragon King Faction" had grown significantly compared to before - Fengjian Liuli was becoming increasingly out of control.

"Ha! You're certainly right. Yes, this is still the territory of the Fierce Ghosts. I know we can't do anything to you, but at least today, before you 're resurrected', I can make sure you're blasted with at least a few hundred rounds of large-caliber Magnums, leaving only pieces of rotten flesh all over your body. You'll at least feel the pain, right?"

While Feng Jianli was threatening, she also showed a look of fear at the right time, and there seemed to be fear hidden in the gloom in her eyes——

Of course, it's acting.

Kazama Ruri felt no fear. He had already learned from Emiya the secret behind the King's "immortality"—it was simply a matter of hiding the real General and controlling the clones to move around. When one clone died, there was always another.

Therefore, there is no point in exposing General Wang's tricks, and there is no use getting anxious, unless General Wang is willing to appear in front of him in his real body... It is better to say that he should behave as before at this moment to avoid arousing General Wang's vigilance, and at the same time secretly investigate the whereabouts of these clones.

"You're still so impatient," the King General's mask's creepy smile was illuminated by the light. "Well, let's get straight to the point. Have you heard about the upcoming event called the Holy Grail War?"

"Of course. Who in this world doesn't know that?"

Feng Jianli's clothes fluttered in an instant, and she raised her sword again, pointing it at General Wang. "That kind of 'Heroic Spirit' with terrifying combat power, I guess, except for the authority of 'God', no other great power could have created such an incredible creation! Is this the result of your exploration of the path of evolution, General Wang?"

"Then I have to sigh. You don't seem to have a talent for telling dry jokes. It was a wise decision to teach you Kabuki instead of Kyogen."

The king paced gracefully, as if performing a Noh play on stage, completely ignoring the sharp blade across his neck. Fengjian Liuli's blade drew silver arcs with his steps, and the two seemed to be dancing a deadly waltz or a strange duet.

"The Holy Grail War, what a wonderful ritual. Masters and Heroic Spirits, blood and glory, the ultimate victor will receive the almighty wish-granting machine... Ah, the fulfillment of wishes, what a gimmick to seduce the world, or is it a trap?"

The king will walk slowly while speaking in a long aria-like style, as if chanting a poem from hell.

"But why make a wish? Why not just enjoy the feast?" His voice suddenly turned cold.

"If it were me, why would I bother with so much effort? I would make better use of the Heroic Spirit, this wonderful weapon, to help me devour those mortals on the food chain who are unworthy of enjoying delicious food. I would use the Heroic Spirit to explore the more wonderful top of the food chain—"

"That's enough! Stop talking about your disgusting 'cannibalism theory' in front of me!"

Fengjian Liuli's long sword suddenly rose up, and the blade swung out as fast as lightning, cutting off a strand of the king's hair.

"Alright, alright, since you're so impatient, I'll just get straight to the point," the King said, still smiling. "Your brother, the Shadow Emperor, the eldest son of the Snake Eight Clan, Genji, is preparing to participate in the Holy Grail War."

"What did you say! Is this true!?" Fengjian Liuli's pupils suddenly shrank, and this time he finally couldn't hide his true feelings.

"It's true! Not only that, he even pinned the blame for the Holy Grail War on us, the demons... This is truly unfair!"

General Wang's voice was tinged with joking, and he spread his hands exaggeratedly.

"Everyone, think about this carefully. Given the size of our group of demons, possessing the technology of Heroic Spirits, yet we are so ostentatiously staging a Holy Grail War, isn't this akin to a child carrying gold through a busy market, a self-destructive act?"

"If we, the Fierce Ghost Clan, were ever exposed to the light of day, we would be instantly crushed and annihilated by the might of the Eight Snake Clans. Let alone exposing ourselves to the entire world in such a high-profile manner? If we provoke the Secret Party, I'm afraid even the Eight Snake Clans would be forced to bow down and become servile, right?"

"If it wasn't you who did it, then who is behind the Holy Grail War?" Feng Jianli's knife tip was still pointing at Wang Jiang's throat, but her eyes had become deep.

Of course he didn't believe what the general said. Combining it with Emiya's information, he knew that the mastermind possessed the same cloning technology as the general. How could there be such a coincidence in the world?

"It doesn't matter who's behind this... or rather, it's not a top priority. What the fierce ghosts need to deal with most is the impending attack of the Eight Snake Clans!"

The King's voice suddenly turned serious. "The existence of Heroic Spirits is extremely terrifying. If they are unilaterally controlled by the Eight Snake Clans, the Fierce Ghosts will never be able to turn the tide. Therefore, we must choose to participate in the Holy Grail War and gain the opportunity to summon Heroic Spirits!"

Fengjian Liuli finally put down the knife.

"Participating in the Holy Grail War, right? Okay, I agree, but on the condition that the position of Master must be mine!"

"Of course! Of course! Only you, my most satisfying work, are qualified to be the master!" The king applauded, and the laughter under the mask sounded more and more uncomfortable.

"By the way, your good brother has already chosen his summon target. It's obvious that it must be the most famous demon-slaying hero in Japanese history... What about you?"

A flash of blood appeared in Fengjian Liuli's eyes, and the image of Yuan Zhisheng stabbing his chest with a knife flashed in his mind. His hatred gradually burst out from the bottom of his heart and flowed through his blood vessels.

"Hmph, the only one who can match the fierce ghosts is the most notorious Ghost King in this land!"